Matt: Practical Leadership
I am finding that there are several practical things that one must consider when leading:
Daily and intentional prayer for those that you directly lead.
This can and probably should include the people that God has placed around you. Many of us work full-time jobs. As God's people, we carry his mission into the work place.
Self assessment.
What are your prejudices? What are the economic, social, class assumptions that you make? What are the caustic effects of nationalism, or sexism, or racism in you (if you think that you are not plagued by these things you might be in trouble)?
Building into a handful of people around you.
Who are you sharing your things with? What personal time and possessions are you letting go of?
What are you spending your money on and how do you view yourself within the American consumer complex?
Are you striving to simplify and create space for God or are you trying to fill up time and space because someone is telling you to? Leaders are watched by those they lead.
A lot of being a follower of Christ is about never being satisfied in what YOU know, and about resting in the feeling of patient unconditional love.
3 comments:
Matt, I would love to hear you say more about the community sharing thing. You mentioned this on Sunday ("Why does everybody on the block have their own lawnmower?"). The reason everybody on MY block has one is that we don't know each other very well. The reason we don't know each other very well is that our lives are too full. Or we have different politics. Or we go to different churches. I hate this, but I think the people of God need some practical ideas on how to begin to make inroads... Please post again!
We live in a culture that values individual ownership, but have we stopped to ask ourselves why? Grabbing and grasping -- holding and holding tight are programmed into us by our natures and fed by the people that want to sell us stuff. I am a very selfish person - I (want to) love my possessions. We can talk about root causes etc. but here are three very practical things you can do...
1. Buy some peanut m&m's (or whatever your favorite candy is) and share them with people. Open your hand.
2. Get a $20 dollar bill (or some other denomination that is SIGNIFICANT to you) and leave it as a tip ON SOMEONE ELSE'S table at a restaurant or coffee shop. No one will know it is from you, and you will not get a tax break.
3. Give some thing away that you love but that you really don't (practically) need BUT that someone else needs. Do not refill the space left by the thing you gave away.
Do these things with the people that God gives you -- they may not be geographically your neighbors, but they are people that God is sending into your life.
Those are cool things, and they feel do-able. What I'm wondering is what this looks like when it begins to grow into your personal and social relationships. I still think the lawnmower thing is a huge deal...
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